I Loved You
by MusicFreak2k14
Summary: It was too late. He knew he should have stayed. Rated M to be safe for dark themes. End of OoT


**I Loved You**

A Legend of Zelda romance story

(A/N) I know it's been a while since my last story. I've been busy with summer camps and summer reading. And now school starts soon so don't expect much (not that I'm addressing many, but hey whatever). I don't own Legend of Zelda or its characters or anything like that.

"Thank you, Link… Thanks to you, Ganondorf has been sealed inside the Evil Realm! Thus, peace will once again reign in this world…for a time. All the tragedy that has befallen Hyrule was my doing… I was so young… I could not comprehend the consequences of trying to control the Sacred Realm. I dragged you into it, too. Now it is time for me to make up for my mistakes…You must lay the Master Sword to rest and close the Door of Time…However, by doing this, the road between times will be closed… Link…give the Ocarina to me… As a Sage, I can return you to your original time with it." Zelda looked at Link sadly. He reluctantly handed Zelda the Ocarina of Time.

"So this is goodbye?"

"When peace returns to Hyrule… It will be time for us to say good-bye…yes. I'm sorry, Link. I don't like it any better than you do. I've come to like you. You're just like the hero of legend – brave, kind, honest, modest. You're amazing. I've liked you from the day when I met you seven years ago. It hurts me to do this but I have to. You have a missed childhood to make up."

"But I don't want to go back to that," he protested. "All that's gonna happen is that I'll just keep getting picked on by Mido and left out of everything without any memories. I don't want to forget, Zelda. I made so many friends. I was so happy, even if they were dark times for the kingdom. I don't want to forget…you." he whispered the last part. He loved her. He wanted to know and remember her.

"Me?" The princess's face contorted in confusion.

"Yes, you. Dammit Zelda, don't you realize how amazing you are? No girl I've met on my adventure compares to you! I kept thinking about you the whole time. I could never forget the girl who I owed my life to. Ganon probably tried to do bad things to Kokiri Forest while I was aways. Probably killed a lot of people I knew."

"Link…" She trailed off, clearly at a loss for words.

"I was free," Link continued. "Life in Kokiri Forest was boring. I'm sure you know what a boring life feels like, Zelda, all cooped up in the castle. Freedom felt amazing, Zelda. I want to remember that. And I have to remember you because I owe it all to you. I'm not upset at what happened. Please, Zelda, let me stay here."

"Link, you can't," she managed, clearly also in a lot of pain. "There's no reason for you to stay in this time."

"There's no reason for me to go home either," he yelled at her. "They won't accept me any more than they ever did! I'm an outcast! I don't belong with the Kokiri! I'm Hylian like you! I belong with your kind, outside the forest, in Castle Town!" Link glared at the princess. "You don't know what it's like to be unaccepted, do you, Zelda?"

"I…no," she said hesitantly.

"It's terrible, Zelda. Try as I might, I can't be accepted there! They excluded me from everything! You're going to be queen, won't you?"

"Yes, Link. I am the crown princess so naturally I'll be the queen."

"How would you rule?"

"Fairly. I'd try to help every one of my subjects' lives."

"Exactly. They'd be accepted by your policies, wouldn't they?"

"Y-yes."

"All people deserve acceptance, a chance at happiness."

"Link, stop it. I don't like it either but you have to go back. What would you even do with your life if I let you stay?"

"I'll wander Hyrule and help where and when people need it. Or if Your Majesty would allow it, I might want to be your bodyguard-slash-guardian. If Impa's gone, I'll be there."

"I don't need help. Ganon is gone. Peace has been restored. We have knights to send if there's trouble."

Link felt a sting in his pride. Her words meant, "We don't need you. We have better people to do what you say you'd do." They meant that the hero was expendable, worthless.

"I see," he said sourly. "You don't want me around because I'm replaceable."

"No," she protested. "I want you around. It's that I can't have you around. I really want you around. But we can't be together."

Link was losing control of his restraint. He approached her quickly. She stood unfazed. Then the hero pounced and kissed her aggressively. She gasped in protest but melted straight into the kiss. After a few moments, he gently licked her lips, asking for entrance. She let him in and their tongues explored each other's mouths.

"Link," she gasped when we pulled apart.

"Zelda," he breathed, "I love you. I loved you since we met. You're irresistible in every way."

She didn't answer. She only gave him an apologetic look as she lifted the ocarina to her lips. As a warm sensation and blue light enveloped him, she said, "Now, go home, Link. Regain your lost time. Home… Where you are supposed to be… The way you are supposed to be…"

The last thing Link heard was her voice faintly in my head saying, "Good-bye…" The rest was blurred as he came to his senses in his child body. That last part could have been anything. Link always wished it was, "Good-bye, my love."

Link quickly found out that time had still passed since he had met Zelda when he ran to Castle Town and once again snuck past the castle's guards in the courtyard to find her. Their eyes met. She beckoned the Hero of Time to follow as she went towards some bushes.

"You did it," she said quietly. "Ganon's no longer a threat. Thank you, Link."

"Anything to help," he said earnestly. He gasped as he suddenly felt Zelda's lips on mine.

She looked at Link sadly when we pulled apart. "Go. You can't stay here long. You'll get in trouble." Link nodded sadly and dashed off when all was clear. He heard a voice faintly. "Good-bye, my…" It was Zelda, trying to not be heard by guards. He still hoped it ended with the word "love."

A few years passed and Link had left Kokiri Forest. Link had no reason to stay. He wandered Hyrule, frequenting Castle Town, although unable to get to the courtyard. Then it happened.

News of an invasion spread. Said invasion came earlier than anyone expected. Castle Town was destroyed, residents slaughtered. The castle was stormed. Though the invaders were defeated, they still managed to kill some high-ups, notably the king and Zelda. The funeral was agonizing to attend. There was a final viewing. He saw Zelda, his Zelda, laying there, dead. Her eyes were closed as if she was asleep and her hands were folded across her chest.

Apparently the invaders let Zelda have some last words before killing her and they were written down. No one knew how. The words swept the hero off his feet in a few sentences.

"Finally, to my beloved. I'm sorry. I should have let you stay with me. It was my mistake and my fault that I am about to die. Goodbye, my love, Link K. de Hyrule."

"_She loved me,"_ he thought sadly. _"Now she's gone."_

He was snapped out of his thoughts by Saria, who stood close by. The ceremony had ended yet the casket was still visible and open. "Go up there," she whispered urgently. "He called you up. Go on."

Link timidly went up to the podium. "Are you Link K. de Hyrule," the man asked.

He nodded, tears in my eyes. "That's me," he choked out.

"I'm sorry for your loss. You must be special if she made the effort to mention you. I'll let you sit for a while." He walked away.

Link sat in front of the casket, arms rested on its edge. "Why," he sobbed. "Why did you have to make me come back? I knew I should have stayed!"

Half an hour later, he felt a tap on his shoulder. "Time to go," he said. "I'm sorry, son."

He stayed near Castle Town, or what was left. Link got some paper and ink and wrote a note. "Goodbye. I made a promise to someone important and I intend to keep it. Goodbye my friends." Link sent it to Kokiri Forest then went to a blacksmith and bought a dagger. He went to the graveyard in Kakariko Village where Zelda was buried. He found her grave and did it. The dagger pierced his heart and he collapsed on the grass beside the princess' tombstone.

"_I promised to be by your side_," he thought. "_I intend to keep that promise until the end of time._"

(A/N) That's it for this Zelda story. Tragic, I know. Oh well. Please review and give me constructive criticism! It would a lot to me.


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